Is a environmental science and conservation degree from SNHU worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 74% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other New Hampshire programs before deciding.

SNHU Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do SNHU environmental science and conservation graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $32,256, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in New Hampshire. That works out to about $342 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do SNHU environmental science and conservation graduates stay in New Hampshire?

Many leave. 10% (27 of 277) were working in New Hampshire one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
Private nonprofit university
Manchester, NH
About 504 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

SNHU environmental science and conservation graduates earn more than graduates of most environmental science and conservation programs nationally, $43,868 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $32,256 in federal loans, more than at 98% of environmental science and conservation programs in the country. One other New Hampshire program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$43,86890th percentile of 247 programs nationally

Median federal debt$32,2565th lowest of 5 New Hampshire programs

Debt-to-earnings74%New Hampshire median 72%, national 67%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New Hampshire and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	SNHU	New Hampshire	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$43,868	$37,286	$33,976
Median federal debt at graduation	$32,256	$26,852	$23,078
Debt as share of first-year pay	74%	72%	67%
Programs compared		5	247

Debt and first-year pay at every New Hampshire environmental science and conservation program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New Hampshire medians.

SNHUOther New Hampshire programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $35,235 against $27,000.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$43,594Median debt $35,235

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$44,397Median debt $27,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $342 a month, or 9.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (96 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 66 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,215.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

10% of graduates (27 of 277) were working in New Hampshire one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas are about 1% above the national average, so a $43,868 salary here buys what about $43,645 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to environmental science and conservation, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Compliance Officers

$82,800

Median pay in New Hampshire. 1,730 people work in this job in New Hampshire. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $54,980Top 10%: $123,020

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

$80,810

Median pay in New Hampshire. 480 people work in this job in New Hampshire. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $59,230Top 10%: $111,840

Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health

$54,080

Median pay in New Hampshire. 80 people work in this job in New Hampshire. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $39,720Top 10%: $68,080

Forest and Conservation Technicians

$51,630

Median pay in New Hampshire. 60 people work in this job in New Hampshire. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $41,660Top 10%: $86,360

About SNHU

Tuition and fees	$17,200 / year
Average net price after aid	$36,708 / year
Admission rate	100%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	43%
Undergraduate students	163,164

Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 24th of 40 bachelor's programs at SNHU by first-year earnings. The top three are Management Information Systems ($86,882), Nursing ($85,600), and Other Business ($80,842).

Other environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs near Manchester

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
SNHUManchester, NH · private nonprofit		$43,868	$32,256
University of New HampshireDurham, NH · public	27 mi	$37,286	$26,750
UMass LowellLowell, MA · public	27 mi	$45,215	$27,000
Keene State CollegeKeene, NH · public	43 mi	$36,423	$23,360
Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA · private nonprofit	47 mi	$68,600	$27,000
Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · private nonprofit	47 mi	$40,044	$18,050
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · private nonprofit	51 mi	$49,111	$17,200
Plymouth StatePlymouth, NH · public	51 mi	$31,836	$27,000
Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	52 mi	$51,137	$23,430

Common questions

The median graduate earns $43,868 one year after graduating. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in New Hampshire is $37,286.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New Hampshire comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the environmental science and conservation program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Environmental Science and Conservation bachelor's programs in New Hampshire, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Environmental Science and Conservation bachelor's programs in the US, ranked247 programs by pay and debt All SNHU programs, ranked48 programs by pay and debt